East Delhi Municipal Corporation workers spray disinfectants as part of a sanitisation drive being conducted in Delhi's Laxmi Nagar as part of the measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, on April 6, 2020.
|IANS

India COVID-19 toll rises to 114, total number of cases goes up to 4,421

India today reported three more deaths due to coronavirus (COVID-19), raising the toll to 114, and 140 new cases of infection since last night, taking the total number to 4,421 so far.

All the three new deaths have been reported from Rajasthan -- the first fatalities from that state, figures released by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare this morning showed.

Of the total of 111 deaths so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest number at 45, followed by 12 in Gujarat, nine in Madhya Pradesh, seven each in Delhi and Telangana, six in Punjab, five in Tamil Nadu, four in Karnataka, three each in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, two each in Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala, and one each in Bihar, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

The total number of 4,421 cases includes the 114 deaths and 326 patients who have been cured, which meant there were 3,981 active cases of the virus in the country as of this morning.

Of the total 4,421 cases, Maharashtra accounted for the highest at 748, followed by 621 in Tamil Nadu, 523 in Delhi, 327 in Kerala, 321 in Telangana, 305 in Uttar Pradesh, 288 in Rajasthan, 266 in Andhra Pradesh, 165 in Madhya Pradesh, 151 in Karnataka, 144 in Gujarat, 109 in Jammu & Kashmir, 91 in West Bengal, 90 in Haryana, 76 in Punjab, 32 in Bihar, 31 in Uttarakhand, 26 in Assam, 21 in Odisha, 18 in Chandigarh, 14 in Ladakh, 13 in Himachal Pradesh, 10 each in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Chhattisgarh, seven in Goa, five in Puducherry, four in Jharkhand, two in Manipur and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura.

According to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, as many as 274 districts in the country have reported COVID-19 cases so far.

The Ministry said 76% of the total confirmed cases so far were male and 24% were female. It also said that 47% of the confirmed cases were below 40 years of age, 34% in the 40-60 age group and 19% in the 60+ age group.

Of those who had died, 73% were male and 27% female, the Ministry said. It said 63% of those who had died were in the 60+ age group, 30% in the 40-60 age group and 7% below 40 years of age.

As of now, 86% death cases have exhibited comorbidity related to diabetes, chronic kidney issues, hypertension and heart related problems.

"Although 19% confirmed cases have been reported among the elderly, since 63% deaths have been observed among them, elderly people form a high risk population. Further, though 37% deaths are reported from people below 60 years, approximately, 86% of deaths amongst people with co-morbidities indicate that young people with co-morbidities are also at high risk of COVID-19," the Ministry added.

The Ministry said the Cabinet Secretary has been interacting through video conference with various district officials to ensure uniformity of response across all parts of all the states. All districts have been advised to have a District level Crisis Management Plan for COVID-19.

The Ministry has issued detailed guidelines for setting up of quarantine facilities which focus on separating suspected and high-risk contacts as early as possible from among other quarantined persons.

The Ministry has also issued guidelines for Handling, Treatment, and Disposal of Waste Generated during Treatment/Diagnosis/ Quarantine of COVID-19 patients.

Additionally, a few informative videos for managing stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak are also posted on the website of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

The States have already been advised to use funds under the National Health Mission (NHM) and State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) to undertake all activities related with creation of quarantine centres, dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and other medical equipment, treatment of patients and all other activities related with management of COVID-19. In addition to this, NHM has already sanctioned Rs. 1100 crore to all the States and Rs. 3000 crore additional funds were released today. Also, N-95 masks, Ventilators and PPEs are being procured from the central pool and distributed to all the States across the country.